Paper Flowers
by phrionnsa Merida
Summary: Twins Juliette and Tony Thompson are miserable in Scotland. They have no friends, are bullied on a daily basis and are suffering from horrid nightmares. Being Revised.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Little Vampire**

**Authoress' Note: Another story, another ongoing project. I know what you are all thinking and believe me, I'd love to work on my other woks. Problem is, my laptop isn't working. It shut down on its own and has yet to turn back on. I've not the money to take it to get fixed, let alone looked at for the time being so I'm left borrowing my mother's laptop until I can get it fixed. So, until that time I've decided to work on other stories that I was planning on posting up in October. Positive criticism is welcomed and encouraged.**

**The overly used '_Tony has a sister_' kind of plot with a bit of a twist. Before anyone has the chance to say anything to me, I know how old they are supposed to be but the ages don't really fit well for my story so I altered them, made them older. I've also altered the time line of events so instead of everything happening in the span of 5 days, it takes place in terms of months. There are other changes but you need some surprise when reading. This is my first attempt at writing a _Little Vampire_ story and I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.**

**Prologue: Scotland**

Sometimes, I hated my life. Today, for instance, was – is – the worst day of my entire eleven years of existence on this planet, more so than my fifth birthday wherein my beloved twin brother chose a _Toy Story 2_ theme for our birthday party. Today tops all other subsequent bad days by far. You see, today's the day we move and not just to any place. Oh no, we're moving from beautiful, sunny California to...Scotland. Of all places for dad to get a job, it had to be in a foreign country, away from all that I have known my entire life. The only upside to this whole excursion is that my twin, Anthony – though he prefers to be called Tony – is as miserable about this whole ordeal as I am. As the old saying goes '_Misery loves company_.'

To clear up any confusion, I'm Juliette, Tony's younger twin sister. Only by 3 minutes though. He still rubs it in my face that he's older but I have my ways at getting back at him for those times like our sixth birthday. I talked mom into having the party themed after _The Little Mermaid_ and I've never liked that movie to begin with. Unfortunately after the fight that occurred after the party we were banned from having such themed birthday parties again. It was also around that time that we decided to call a truce and get along for the sake of not driving each other and our parents insane. We've been close ever since though every now and then, we still fight like all siblings do.

As much as I hate to admit it, this move may be for the best. I mean, Tony and I have no friends to speak of. Our former classmates pinned us as being weird so we only had each other to depend on for the longest time. Maybe, just maybe, we can make some friends once we're settled in. That would be nice and mom would stop worrying about us so much. She thinks that just because we don't have any friends that we're becoming serial killers in the making. Leave it to moms to jump to the worst possible conclusions when it involves her children.

If it wasn't for dad, I'm sure that mom would have gotten us a therapist. While mom is the everlasting worrywart over us, dad is more lax and understanding. He rather liked us not having any friends as he was able to spend more time with us although I'm not too sure that was a good thing. He liked taking us golfing or to visit job sites and show us around. Aside from the whole golfing thing, it was always fun to hang out with dad.

At least, with dad, we're not fussed over and constantly questioned like we are with mom. She doesn't understand us as much as she likes to pretend that she does. Truthfully, neither does dad but at least he doesn't try to figure us out and try to make us be something that we're not. He's great like that. It doesn't matter that we're into video games and have a fascination with the realm of the supernatural and other things like that. To him, we're just average kids and to some degree he is right. We're average to a point, not that we've ever complained about it before. I doubt we ever will.

Currently, we're on the longest flight we're taking this entire move, the one from Newark, NJ to Edinburgh, Scotland. We only just took off and will be aboard for close to seven hours. A lot of the other passengers, mom and dad included, have fallen asleep. Tony and I, we're too anxious to sleep really. Well, I know that I am, Tony's playing Pokemon Diamond on his DS. I'd be playing my game too but I'm just not in the mood for video games. I'm too antsy about being on a plane for the second time in my life. The last flight had some awful turbulence on landing and I'm still shook up over it. After this move, we better never move again because I absolutely refuse to take another airplane anywhere ever again.

I wonder what our new house will look like? Dad said it was a manor house of some kind. That has me a bit worried as the only manor houses I've ever seen weren't that big. I hope that manor houses are different in other countries than they are in California. Otherwise, we're going to be cramped. Mom says that dad probably got the terms wrong since we're living out in the country somewhere, claiming that we're going to be in a Scottish country home. Tony and I are hopeful that they're both wrong. We want to live in a castle. For different reasons of course. Tony wants to for the reason that his newest obsession – vampires- generally live in castles. My reasons are because of witches. I mean, what self-respecting witch doesn't live in a or close to a castle? Even the Wicked Witch of the West lived in a castle. She also had flying monkeys. Those were very cool. I wish flying monkeys were real. I'd like to have one for a pet.

Flying monkeys aside, I truly hope that this change is for the best. I know Tony and I could use some actual friends outside of each other. I'm also secretly hoping for some kind of adventure as well. I know Tony is, he told me before we left California. Tony and I secretly have bets that we'll run across some supernatural creatures in Scotland. I bet we'd run into the Scottish banshee first while Tony claims we'll run into vampires instead. I hope I win otherwise Tony gets to pick out my Halloween costume this year. Knowing him, if he wins, he'll pick out something along the lines of a zombie or...even worse, he'll let mom pick something out for me and she's obsessed with the Disney Princesses. For the longest time she's wanted me to dress up as Sleeping Beauty. I'll kill him if he does that.

It's getting late and as much as I hate the thought, I'm going to have to go to sleep soon if I want to be awake when we land. Tony's shutting his game off as well, guess he's tired. I should follow his example, good thing my iPod is in my pocket. That should make it easier to fall asleep. Music always helps me sleep, does the same for Tony too. He's already got his headphones on. Place it on shuffle and readjust the headphones and there. All set to fall asleep. When next my eyes open, I'll be in Scotland or close to it at least.


	2. Chapter I

**Authoress' Note: Be sure to check my profile for my poll on _Secret's Kept_. That poll will be active for some time so you can take your time in placing your votes. **

**This story is a Fantasy – Adventure – Romance story. Due to the time span alteration there will be more expansion on the developing feelings. Also, expect out of characterness. Since I upped the ages, it stands to reason that there would be some differences in how they behave and act. Keep this in mind while reading.**

**Disclaimer is in the first chapter. Enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter I: Just A Dream**

It's been a grand total of three days since we officially moved into our new home and I must say, I'm impressed with the place. The house, if I can even call it that, was huge. Four stories tall and made out of carved gray stones; it resembled a small sized castle rather than a home. Columns adorned the walkway up to our front porch with a beautifully hand-carved archway leading up to the front door which are thick and dark mahogany double doors. At least, I think it's mahogany wood, I'm not a wood expert and don't ever plan to be one. There are some balconies and the windows, they vary from normal to stained to painted and they're various different sizes and shapes. Some are the basic square while others are arched or curved. The overall appearance of the place was beautiful and majestic. I felt almost princess y at being able to live in this house, just don't tell my mom.

The whole property was surrounded by a stone and black wrought-iron fence. The gate was designed with a bit of a Gothic motif but fit the look rather well. Our front lawn's luscious with various flowerbeds scattered about. We even have a beautiful weeping willow tree off to one side. Our backyard is done up beautifully, like a garden. Cobblestone and dirt pathways, dozens of flowers and trees. It's stunning. Tony and I have already found a few out of the way places that we can hide out in.

The inside is something to behold as well. While the outside gives you the feel of a medieval castle, the inside is anything but. Most of the place is furnished with hard wood flooring of various different shades and hues. There's not much, if any, carpeting in the place which is a bit of a let down. No walking around in bare feet for me. I'm not going to bore you all with details of the looks and styles of each and every room in the place, that would take way too much time.

My room is a sight to behold. Black wood wainscoting covers the lower half up to about knee height. The wainscoting has some elaborate wood carvings of moons, stars and sparks embellished with a silver paint while the actual walls are painted a dark velvet purple color. A matching plush rug covers most of the dark reddish-black floor and the ceiling is painted black with silver star bursts. The room itself is spacious with a walk-in closet and, surprise surprise, I have a balcony. I have a large sliding glass door that leads out to my balcony. I hung sheer black curtains to dim the light, the view is just too pretty to cover up with anything more. My windows are simply beautiful, there are four in total. They extend from the top of the wainscoting to my ceiling and nearly all of them but one is painted like the night sky. It's really pretty with the light shining in and better than stained glass. The one window that isn't painted is a standard clear glass though I'm considering painting some kind of design on it to match with my other windows. Flower sconces provide light to my room as does a flower chandelier. The flowers are hand painted and made of glass. They're various shades of purple and even pink. Very beautiful and elegant if I do say so myself.

My bed is a queen size four poster made out of a similar wood as my floor, at least in coloring. Like I said before, I'm not wood expert, I couldn't tell you the kinds of wood if my life depended on it. My blankets are dark green with hints of red while my comforter and pillow cases are purple with black and green swirls. It's very comfortable. On the outside of the posters, I've attacked curtains to give my bed the appearance of being a canopy bed without it actually being a canopy bed. There are two types of curtains; sheer black on the inside and dark velvet purple on the outside. Makes it all the more darker for when I sleep. Next to my bed is a small night stand that houses my unused alarm clock and my DS which I play when I'm having problems going to sleep.

Across from my bed is my dresser. It's not very big and only has three drawers. It's painted black and has silver handles on the drawers. If you don't know what I keep in there then you don't have to know. Simple as that. I don't keep much on top of the dresser as I find no real need to. I have a vanity for all that miscellaneous stuff anyway.

On the opposite wall is a matching desk with a plush black office chair and my own desktop system, used mainly for gaming and writing. There's also a printer and a laptop. The printer is only used for printing out school work, not that school is in session yet. The laptop I use mostly for writing. I've spent a long time transferring all of my works from my many journals and notepads onto it and I'm still not finished with that task yet. There are four drawers where I keep various nick knacks like paper clips and pens and such.

To the left of my desk, mounted on my wall, is my 32" flat screen TV. Beneath that is a small entertainment desk with my DVD player which is surrounded by my collection of dvds, mostly horror movies. Following that are my games, mostly for the Wii and a few for the PlayStation 2. My Wii is currently attached to my TV, I've been playing Twilight Princess since settling into my room.

Perpendicular to my entertainment unit is my bookshelf, painted black. I don't own very many books. Instead of normal books, my bookshelf houses all of my sketch pads, notebooks and journals. I also store all of my painting and sketching supplies, colored pencils and my DS games. My easel isn't too far off with my canvas' located on the top shelf of my bookshelf. The bigger canvas' are in my closet. There's a small stool next to it that I sit on while painting or sketching.

Then, this is the coolest. There's a mounted mirror on the wall next to my walk in, in an elaborate silver frame. I placed my vanity there with all my hair nick-knacks and what not. There's this knob on the frame that, when pushed, opens up a door in my closet to a secret passage. Now, I've not done much exploring within the passageways but I did find that the passageway does connect to Tony's room. We exploit the passageways nightly since discovering them. You see, we don't want our parents to know that, since moving in, we've been having nightmares. Vivid nightmares at that. Using the passageways allows us to move back and forth between rooms without causing too much racket to alert them that we're up and about.

Currently, I was perched on my stool sketching. I'm not sure just what I am sketching I just know that I have to sketch to get it out of my head. Pretty sure that it's something from one of those nightmares that I just can't seem to remember in full detail. Tony says that my new line of sketches look like something out of a horror novel. I'd have to say that he's right. They're rather dark and shadowed. I still can't make heads or tails of them.

"Julie, you sketching again?" Tony's voice reached out to me from my closet. Why is he roaming around in the secret passageway? It's not even nighttime therefore, no dreams to haunt us.

"Of course I'm sketching again. What else would I be doing with charcoal and paper?" Sarcasm much? I'm afraid so. I generally hate being disrupted when sketching. Makes me lose focus. Setting the charcoal stick down, I turn my attention fully on my older brother. We're almost identical if not for the fact that he's a boy. Spiky golden blond hair and blue-gray eyes underneath Harry Potter-esque glasses. "What's up, why are you using the passageways?"

"Dad's at work and mom went to the market. Figured now would be a good time to explore and see how far throughout the house these passageways go. Wanna join?" How thoughtful to ask. Placing the charcoal down and dusting off my hands, I hit the button on the mirror and proceeded to join him.

"You're going first. I'm not going to be the one to run into potential spiders." And I shoved him in, making sure to close the hidden door after entering. As we proceeded along, I couldn't help but keep my eyes open for any of those creepy eight legged monstrosity's. I don't care what anyone says, I've seen some pretty big spiders before, some even bigger than a golf ball at that, in our old house. Anything that can get that big deserves death.

"How are your dreams? Still the same?" Tony's voice startled me. I smacked him for that.

"What do you think?" I shot out at him with a huff. He knows better than to just randomly ask something without prior warning. I was getting used to the stillness. We've already past the exit way to his room. We're going to find all the entrances and exits if we can. "Of course they're still the same and before you ask; no. I still don't remember them much. What about you?"

"They're getting more clearer but all I can recall is that amulet of some kind. That blood red stone and the sensation of falling." A dramatic pause. "Do you think these dreams are connected to the house?"

"I'm not too sure. You know I'm not all into that dream interpretations as I used to be. Why bother asking me?"

"Well, you **are** the most knowledgeable on the subject. I just thought you'd say something along the lines of the dreams being a manifestation of our stress and anxiety of being uprooted from our former lives and implanted into a new environment and way of living or something like that. Sheesh, excuse me for asking."

"Have you been reading my journals again?"

"No...not lately."

"You know those are private! I don't like anyone reading what I write."

"But you're so good at it though. Why wouldn't you want someone to read them?"

"Because I just don't. Not yet anyway. Those are only rough drafts. Why do you think I spend so much time typing them up onto my computers? Just, stop reading them, okay. I don't invade your privacy so you shouldn't invade mine."

"Okay okay. I'll not read them anymore. Happy now?" He grumbled under his breath. I knew, despite what he said, that he would continue reading all the poems and short stories that I have in all my journals. It wasn't fair. It's not like Tony does anything outside of video games that I could intrude upon. It would be a whole different story if that were the case but sadly, it wasn't. "I just wish we could go through one of those adventures you've written about though."

"We can make our own adventures. We've got these secret passageways and various different points of entry to them. And with our minds, I'm sure we could come up with something fun and adventurous to do. Maybe a treasure hunt of some kind?" Why not. It'll be something else to occupy our time with outside of the norm.

"I wonder if there are any secret rooms that these passageways lead to? What if there's some kind of treasure located within? That would be so cool!" Doesn't take much to get my brother excited. Can't blame him though, I'm kind of excited about the prospect of finding a treasure myself. So far though, we've not run into any other hidden doorways or anything but then again, I'm not too sure we were focusing on doing such either. Oh well, we can look again when we come back.

"I wonder where this passageway leads to anyway. Outside from connecting our rooms together I've not seen any other doorways. You don't think this is a huge circling passageway do you?"

"That would be so lame." I tugged on his arm, making him turn around.

"Promise not to tell mom and dad about this? The passageway, our dreams. We can't tell anyone about them unless we talk about it first, okay?"

"Sounds good. Besides, if mom and dad knew they wouldn't let us use them anyway. Not to mention how mom would react over our dreams. I don't want to have to go see another therapist." We both shuddered at that. I hated that mom did that to use when we were eight. Thankfully the guy said that mom was just being overbearing and that was after just one visit.

We continued on our expedition through the long corridor, mentally noting everything about what we were seeing. I planned on sketching out a map of the secret passages and hidden entrances for us to use every time we explore them. Being observant as I was I also knew that I would need to make notations on how to open the doorways, if there were any more,

We made it to a stone staircase just as mom came home, her voice echoing throughout the house a good indicator of such. We scrambled back to Tony's room as fast as we could. It's a good thing our rooms are on the third floor. We settled in, quickly turning on his PlayStation2 and made the impression that we were playing a game as she entered his room.

"There you two are. It's such a nice day outside and you two are coped up inside." She sighed shaking her head. "Why don't you to go outside for once. The sunlight's not going to kill you. Lunch will be ready soon."

"Okay." We shared a look before rolling our eyes as mom left. Dropping the controller, I allowed my head to thump against his dark blue plush rug.

"That was too close." I moaned out before raising my head to look at my brother. "Next time, we need to be more careful. Mom would of freaked if she didn't find us."

"Yeah. Wish she'd leave us alone once in a while. She needs a hobby or something."

"Leave that to me. Anyway, let's play this game til lunch. It'll help keep our minds off of things for a bit." I grinned, glad for any opportunity to distract my mind. Next thing I knew, it was lunch time. Mom's on this new health kick and, unfortunately, it affects what she fixes for us to eat. Lunch was homemade vegetable soup made with fresh vegetables and cucumber sandwiches with milk. After managing to stomach the sandwich and milk, I took it upon myself to help mom clean up. After all, it was my sole intent to talk mom into taking up gardening. After that, I went back to my room and went back to sketching. Who knows what Tony was doing, probably playing video games or something.

Time flew by as I sketched. I finished up the one I was working on when Tony interrupted me for exploration time and moved on to the first of many sketches of the secret passageway and moved on from there to other things. Coming to a stop on my current sketch, I decided that it was time for sleep. After a quick shower, I donned my favorite black pajamas and collapsed onto my bed, curling up under the covers. Sleep, here I come.

I'm not sure how long I was out, but when I woke up with a start it felt as if I had only just gone to bed. Both of my curtains around the bed were pulled closed so I had no idea what time it was but that truly didn't matter. Not like I'm in much of a state to even check the time. Sweaty and trembling, I pulled my knees up to my chest and worked on calming my breathing, the remnants of my dream echoing in my mind. The feel of rough hands gripping my forearms, of being dragged and of cold stone against my skin and a sneering, harsh voice echoed within my mind. The feeling of being trapped and panicked, of a sharp pain in my chest. I couldn't take it anymore. Throwing my covers off, I rushed out of my bed, pressed the button on my mirror, and quickly ran into the passageway hidden within my closet, stumbling as I made my way to Tony's room.

His room, which I know I neglected to talk about, is decorated in a similar fashion as mine. Black wainscoting on the lower half of his walls; wherein my carvings are embellished with silver, his are colored in a golden yellow color. The rest of his walls, ceiling included, is painted a dark blue with yellow dots of various sizes. Like mine, he has a sliding glass door and four windows as well, same style as mine.

Thankfully his bed is closer to his walk-in closet, unlike mine. It's also a queen size, the wood is painted black. Black sheets and a blue-green comforter adorn his bed and, thankfully, he wasn't sprawled out in the middle of it like usual. I wasted no time in crawling into his bed and tugging on his arm. That was all I needed to do before he groggily wrapped me up in a hug. It was all I needed to sooth my frazzled nerves and ease me back into the comforting embrace of slumber.

"Thanks Tony." Was all I whispered out before allowing myself to go back to sleep. He grumbled out a reply, one of which I couldn't truly understand and he was back asleep within seconds. I don't care how much talking about this that Tony and I do and have had, these nightmares feel as if they are more than just that. They feel like they're more than just a dream and that, above all else, frightened me. If this was all brought on by stress, by anxiety, then they'd eventually fade away. With a small smile, I finally allowed myself to slip into the land of dreams.

**Authoress' Notes: I'd like to say thank you to all who have reviewed, read, favorite d and alerted this new story of mine. It's really been an inspiration to know that you all like my story that much. I must say that I was a little nervous about how it would be received and I am glad that, so far, it is being received well. **

**To my anonymous reviewer, bluelover. Thank you for that warning. I must say that I am guilty of that same thing too. I believe that most people are as well. I will do my best not to let this story sink into the shadows as I have done in the past with other stories. Feel free to to pester me if I go more than 2 weeks without updating. Chances are I wound up getting sidetracked. In fact, any of my readers can do so as well. I'm easily distracted and tend to forget what I was doing beforehand. **

**Positive criticism is welcomed. Flames will be deleted. **


	3. Chapter II

**Authoress' Note: It's been a while since my last chapter. I apologize for this fact. October became an extremely hectic month for me. My fiance's mother has been in an out of the hospital all month having all kinds of surgeries and tests done. I've been running between two states since the second week of October and have run out of funds for another trip to visit. That was October though and this is November, NaNoWriMo month. What this means for you all is that chapters will be slow coming as I work to meet my quota for my NaNo project this year which is being posted on my alternate account [a link to said profile can be found in my profile]. I'm very sorry about this story seemingly falling on the back burner but since this story has been around since for a month. Never fear though, I do have the next five chapters planned out, it's just a matter of typing them up after meeting my daily quota on my NaNo story. Without further delay, I present to you the next chapter of _Paper Flowers_! Please enjoy.**

**A small side note here, it'll be a few more chapters yet before Rudolph makes his first appearance in the story. **

**Disclaimer is in the first chapter. Please enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter II: Trouble Times Two**

Have you ever had that feeling that you just should of stayed in bed? That the upcoming day you were going to have was going to be nothing but hectic and terrible? Sucks doesn't it? Today just so happens to be that day for me. Oh joy among joy. I don't know why I even bother to disregard this feeling bubbling inside me to play ill and stay home but, for the sake of getting the accurate sizes that I need, I shove those horrendous feelings out of the forefront of my mind.

Today, we're going shopping. Not just for anything either, for our school uniforms. Yes, our new school that we'll be starting at the end of this briny month of August...requires uniforms. Mom just got the letter this morning and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with Tony and I. She had to bride us in the end. I already know what I plan on getting: more hair clips and various other accessories. I am still a girl, believe it or not, and I do love jewelry and make up to some extent and I love accessorizing for school. Good thing that this shopping trip entitles more than just the simple purchasing of uniforms, we get new school supplies too. I'm pushing mom for a messenger bag on top of my other purchases. I'm going to milk this female shopping gene for all its worth on this trip into town.

"What are you grinning about, Julie?" Tony inquired as he fiddled with his shoe laces. He's doing everything but tie them correctly. I swear he does that on purpose. My eyes darted over to regard him. "You're starting to creep me out. Knock it off, will ya?"

"Not only are we going shopping for new things, even if they are for school, we're also going to get whatever we want. How can I not be thrilled over that? And what do you mean I'm creeping you out, huh?" I asked him after a brief explanation, smacking him upside his head.

"Ow! That hurt!" He complained while rubbing his head. I did nothing more than cross my arms and fix him with a hard stare, frowning.

"It was supposed to hurt." I stated in a flat tone. Still waiting for an explanation here and it better be a good one or I'm smacking him again. He frowned at me before sighing.

"Well, if you weren't so weird to be grinning at a wall, I wouldn't of said anything." I smacked him again. "Stop it!"

"That was lame. And who said I was grinning at the wall? Just because I'm grinning and looking at the wall doesn't mean I'm grinning at it. Use your brain next time before speaking." Huffing, I stalked out of his room and down the stairs. Mom was finished cleaning up breakfast and was just now getting things together for our little trip to town. I wasn't looking forward to the ride, it was a thirty-minute drive to reach the town and I get bored easily. If we were allowed to bring out DS', I'd have mine in hand, playing. Mom doesn't want use to be distracted therefore, we can't bring them. So not fair.

"All right, let's go." Mom's cheery voice called out as she grabbed the keys. I wanted to groan, to bang my head against the wall. Something, anything, to distract me from how much **fun** this was going to be. I shot Tony a glare as we made our way outside to the car. It's his fault and I'm sticking to that for the time being. "Hustle up you two or I'm leaving you behind."

Why does she have to be so peppy all the time? It's unnerving. Not one to take her words for granted, she's left before without us and bought things that don't fit and I so do not want to go through that brand of humiliation again, I darted to the car and into the backseat. Tony can suffer sitting up front next to her, the back seat is mine!Upon giving said brother of mine the skunk eye, I buckled up and prepared for the longest ride I would take this morning, that gut feeling that I should just stay behind bubbling up again. I hate feeling dread.

One long, boring car ride later and I'm being fitted for a uniform. Blegh. Why is it that nearly all uniforms are plaid? Seriously, why? Don't get me wrong, I like plaid and all but isn't it a bit much to have plaid uniforms? You see them in cartoons, TV shows, movies and all of that. It's over done, over used, cliched, redundant. They are kind of cute though, creamy yellow and pale brown skirt with an ivory white blouse and a choice of sweater vests of either color with the school emblem on the left breast pocket and a black tie or sash. We even have to wear certain color socks, which is a bit much if you were to ask me. At least I don't have to wear a plaid sweater like Tony since the male uniform has solid colored slacks over plaid.

"You look so cute, Julie." Mom stated and I couldn't help but role my eyes. I don't want to look cute, especially in a uniform. Does she seriously not know how dangerous it is to look cute in a uniform? The last thing I need is some creepy pedophile stalking after me because I look cute in a uniform. "Oh, don't roll your eyes. And stop slouching, stand up straight so I can make sure this is the right size for you."

Tony snickered. Jerk. We'll see how he likes it when he's on the receiving end of mom's primping. Now that will be a good laugh. Swallowing what little pride I have left and grateful that the skirt is at least a decent length, I complied to mom's demands and swallowed a sigh. A few more adjustments and tugging and I'm home free, disappearing back into the confines of the dressing room to put my normal clothes on. Handing to uniform over to mom, I made sure to shoot Tony a conspiratorial grin before slinking off to explore the store and pick out my bribe purchases as mom fawns over how big her baby boy has gotten and all that other motherly stuff. It might also be a good idea to pick out a few other uniforms as well. It would be wise to have more than the three mom currently has. Have to plan ahead in case of emergency after all.

Let's see, two long-sleeved blouses, an extra skirt and one sweater vest. Seems good enough on the emergency back ups. And now, the fun part of this trip for me, getting my accessories. I'm not hard to please in this aspect as I'm not one for fancy jewelry or the latest trends. In fact, I love cheap jewelry like mood rings and those cheep bangle bracelets that you can buy in the dozens and don't get me started on the hair clips and other various baubles or you'll never get me to shut up. Guess that's the inner girl in me or at least, that's what Tony calls it. Whatever, it's not lie it truly matters anyway.

"Well well, what do we have here?" A heavily accented voice sounded to my right and I immediately didn't like the tone that was used. Slowly turning around I couldn't help but scowl at what I saw. It was a rather cocky boy no older than myself and Tony with dark blond hair and shifty brown eyes. First impressions are everything and...I don't like this dude. I made sure to quickly divert my attentions back to choosing another mood ring in hopes he'd take a hint. Oh how wrong I was.

"Now that's not very nice." Mr. Attitude stated as he slung an arm around my shoulders, forcefully jerking my body to stand next to his. Creep much? Jeez, get a clue. I turned from you for a reason, ya know. "What's a pretty lass like you doing all by herself? Do you need any help finding anything?"

I dunno who he's trying to impress by acting all chivalrous and junk but it's not working on me. I can see right through his phony behavior. Shrugging his arm off, I grabbed the ring that I liked. "Is there something you want or do you get your jollies by self-imposing yourself upon everyone you see?" I quipped in an annoyed tone in hopes of driving the Scot off with my annoying American attitude.

"No need to get your panties in a twist missy." Another voice sounded from behind me and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Another nuisance to disturb my shopping trip. Just what I don't need or want. It's making me regret walking off on my own. Why oh why did I leave mom and instead of waiting around and watching her fuss over Tony? I turned slightly and regarded the new comer with a raise brow. He resembled Mr. Attitude a bit, if not being a year or two younger. Same hair color though styled differently. Possible brothers, could be cousins.

"Back off. I'm not interested in those who travel in herds." I snarked out while attempting to leave the two blond cretins behind. The keyword here is attempted. No sooner did I take two steps did I find myself jerked back and pinned rather harshly against the wall next to the display of mood rings and other cheaply made merchandise, Mr. Attitude scowling in my face.

"Such lashings from a pretty girl. I can think of a better way to occupy that tongue of yours." Mr. Attitude nearly growled out at me. I couldn't help but tighten my fist as annoyance grew within me. Before I could do anything though, Tony showed up. Man, I've never been more grateful to see my twin in all my life.

"Get away from her!" Tony declare in a cracking voice. Geez, glad I'm not a boy as that is such an embarrassing tick to have in puberty. Gotta give him points though, he shoved attitude away from me. Unfortunately, all that did was entice the other into action.

"I think we ought to teach this creep a lesson, Nigel." Young attitude stated as he cracked his knuckles. Attitude, or Nigel if you want to go by actual names, joined in.

"Anthony! Juliette! Come on, we've a lot more to do today than just focus on getting your uniforms." Ah, good old mom. She sure knows when to make an appearance and save us from getting torn to shreds...though I think they only would of shredded Tony as they keep trying to give me this flirtatious look. So not working.

"Coming mom!" I called out while grabbing Tony's wrists before dragging him off.

"Don't think we'll let you get off that easy!" Nigel called out after us. I could care less despite the high possibility that they attend the same school we're starting. I sure hope not but knowing our luck, they are.

"Not a word to mom, you got that Tony?" I hassled him a bit as we closed in on mom who had somehow managed to make it to the school supplies section before us. "She worries about us enough as it is. She'll go over the deep end if she finds out about that incident."

"Alright. I promise but I'm not leaving your side if I can help it."

"It's not like you can do much against them Tony, that Nigel kid seems like that kind to travel around with a pack of friends, he'll cream you if given the opportunity." He sighed and nodded in agreement as I patted his back. "Still, it's nice of you to stick by me even if you do wind up getting creamed." Grinning, we picked up our pace and went to stand on either side of mom, pointing out things that we liked and would be useful for school. She let me get my messenger bag too.

**Authoress' Notes: Once again I would like to give my thanks to all that reviewed, read, favorite d, and alerted this story of mine despite how long it took me to get it out. Truth be told, on top of what I stated at the beginning, this chapter had its fair share of problems in the making. I'm not very thrilled with out it turned out but it'll have to do for now. I'll attempt a rewrite of it after I complete the story. **

**bluelover, thank you for the reminder. I got so wrapped up in my NaNo project on top of everything else that I honestly forgot to finish up this chapter. **

**Positive criticism is welcomed. Flames will be deleted.**


	4. Chapter III

**Authoress' Note: I wish things were getting better but they're not. My future mother-in-law isn't doing so well and my great uncle has now been diagnosed with cancer and it just feels like everything is falling apart. On the up side, I've planned out the entire story by now. **

**I'll put your mind at ease, Tony isn't going to be beaten black and blue when it concerns his bullies. I'll admit now that I am aware that new students to a school, transfer or not, are not introduced to the class but it's how I wanted it to be for this story. **

**Disclaimer is in the first chapter. Please enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter III: School Days**

If there was anything I dreaded more, it was today. The first day of school. Now, normally, this wouldn't be much of a problem with me as I just love getting away from mom but after that incident at the store... Yeah. I could go for being home schooled instead. If mom hadn't rushed me, I would still be getting ready but no. We have to make a good impression on our first day, we can't be late. As if.

Tony and I shared a look as we stood in the hallway of our classroom. We were both dreading this as we just knew that those two boys we met last week spread some kind of rumor or something about us. Call it instinctual on our part but they did have the opportunity to do just that. Being locals and around our age, yeah. Can you tell that this has happened to us before? It has.

The door opened and we were ushered in by a wiry man donning black rimmed glasses. Our teacher. He had us face that class and low and behold! It was anything but a warm welcome if those despairing looks are anything to go by and oh look. That creep is in out class as well, smug face and all. This is going to be a long school year.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to our new students who've come all the way from America to be with us." Our teacher stated in a nasally voice. "Anthony and Juliette Thompson." We nodded to the class as per good manners dictated. If anything, it's best to have the teacher on our side in the off chance we get ganged up on. "Now, Miss Thompson if you would please take a seat by Mr. McAshton." Great. I get to sit next to the creeper that tried to put the moves on me. My life officially sucks now. "And you Mr. Thompson, sit by Miss Shea." We took our seats and our horrible day began.

My hands clenched under my desk as the girl behind me kept kicking mine. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to distract myself and focus my attentions elsewhere, mainly onto the lesson being taught. From the corner of my eye I could see that Tony was having the same problem as I was. It didn't help that this McAshton kid kept looking at me with this smug smirk. What I wouldn't give to wipe that look off of his face. Unfortunately, that isn't possible. He's related to dad's boss. Therefore, I have to be courteous to him which just isn't fair.

All thoughts that things would get better throughout the day were proven false. It only got worse. I think I got the worst of it all compared to Tony. Since McAshton kept looking at me whenever the teacher turned his back to write on the board, I kept getting these biting dark looks from the female population in the class. Paper balls were thrown at my head, my desk kept getting kicked. One girl, walking past to go to the bathroom smacked me in the face, unintentional my foot. My nose is still sore.

Lunchtime was the pinnacle of it all. Tony and I were practically jumped. In a manner of speaking that is. That brat McAshton – if I ever learn his name I swear I'll take up voodoo and hex him – just sat back and watched as the preteen idiot females of the class surrounded me and kept pushing me about, dishing out what they thought were witty insults. When I collided with a rock my last time to the ground and scraped my elbow, I nearly screamed. Not from pain or anything but from frustration and irritation.

By this time, lunch was almost over and Tony made his way over to me in overprotective brother mode. As sweet as that was, there was honestly nothing he could do and we both knew it. Tony''s not the kind of guy to hit a girl no matter how annoying they were. Besides, I warded him off with a dark look. It was then that, that McAshton brat approached. They had some kind of confrontation and Tony ended up on the ground, clearly upset. I wish I heard what was said but unfortunately it was spoken to soft for me to hear.

After lunch, I was praying for school to end so I could retreat back home and to my stash of hidden candy that I kept in my room and my video games. My way of dealing with problems that arise in my life, like when we moved here. I had been hopeful that after lunch, things would calm down some but I was wrong. They only got worse and I could no longer ignore what was going on around me as my fellow classmates, Tony excluded, were getting more and more daring with their bullying, venturing so far as to throw things at me while the teacher was watching. To make matters worse, the teacher didn't do anything about it and that really upset me.

A deep sigh later and I was wishing for time to speed up. School can't end fast enough for me. I want out and I never want to come back. I'll plead and beg mom for home schooling, I'll do anything to prevent myself from coming back into this horrid environment that I found myself in today. I never want to come back. Never, never.

**Authoress' Note: I'm not thrilled with this chapter and I hate that its so short and that there is barely any communications within it. As I stated above, November was a horrid month and it has yet to get better so far. This is not my best work, I know that and I'm sorry for the quality and quantity that I have given you this time around. Positive criticism is welcome and accepted. If you think that I should revise this chapter before writing out the next one, please tell me in a review. It'll help me in the long run.**


	5. Chapter IV

**Authoress' Notes: I'd like to thank all who read, review, favorite and alert this story of mine. Truth be told, I wasn't so sure on how it would be taken as this is a bit of an experimental fic for me. It is very heart warming to see that others are enjoying this fic as much as I am enjoying writing it, even if I am a little slow with updating. I would also like to extend my thanks to those who wished me and my family well what with all of the health issues that occurred the last month. My great uncle is doing better and my mother-in-law has been doing well on chemo.**

**Disclaimer is in the first chapter. Please enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter IV: Pleas Unanswered**

I had to think up a new tactic before it was too late. Mom and dad were going to some kind of party tonight, leaving Tony and I in the care of some sitter – not that we even need a sitter mind you, we're old enough to look after ourselves. Shame mom doesn't seem to think so as it would so save her money whenever her and dad go out. Anyway, back to the point at hand. I need a new tactic, new approach on how to convince her to home school us and I needed it fast.

"Look at it this way," I began with a bit of a pitch to my voice as I followed mom around her and dad's bedroom. "You'll be able to keep an eye on us better if we're schooled here. You know, keep us out of trouble and from falling into the wrong crowd and all of that."

"Juliette Selene Thompson, we've been through this before." Mom started with a deep sigh and I knew then that it was a lost cause. "You and Tony are not going to be home schooled. You've only been through one day of school. Just because you had a bad day doesn't mean that it will stay that way for the duration of the school year. Now, I'm not discussing this anymore. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes mom." I murmured before leaving her in lieu of sulking up in Tony's room. We can sulk together on our horrible fate and my failure to get us out of it. If anything, we can discuss how to deal with the growing problem that Nigel McAshton has gifted us with as it was quite obvious that the teacher wasn't going to be much help on that front. I'm sure that if the two of us discuss the problem and how to handle it, things will slowly start to get better.

"You failed." Tony muttered as I walked in and proceeded to dramatically collapse onto his floor just inside his doorway. I barely twitched as I pinned my gaze onto his slumped form at his desk.

"That obvious?" I inquired with a pout. He made a noise in the back of his throat as he turned to look at my defeated form. "She wouldn't budge, not even when I pulled out the _you can keep a better eye on us_ card. Said that one bad day didn't mean anything and things would _**get better**_."

"If by better she means worse, then she's right." Tony stated as he rose to his feet and approached me before hauling me up and depositing me on his bed.

"She called me by my full name." I moaned out letting Tony know just how serious she was on us not being home schooled. He proceeded to groan and fall face first onto his bed. She only uses our full names when she meant business and that made it all the more worse for us.

"What are we going to do Julie?" Tony whined out. "He's going to ensure our lives are miserable. He already has the entire class against us including the teacher. I wouldn't be surprised if the principle was on his side. It's not fair!"

"At least you're not the one getting death glares from all the girls in our class." I pitifully argued back. "I don't even like the guy and I'm already being pinned as competition – not that I would ever want that creep to begin with. And I'm sure that he put some kind of idea in their heads to begin with. He's such a creep!" I pounded my fists on his bed and frowned more as I rolled onto my side and faced Tony.

"What are we gonna do?" He asked in a soft voice and, for once, I honestly didn't have an answer.

"I don't know but we have to do something." I replied just as softly. "Otherwise, we'll never make it through the year." We grew silent as we slipped into deep thought, well I did. Not too sure if Tony honestly did or not, I can only assume.

"We could cut everyday!" Tony softly exclaimed as he sat up, quite pleased with his idea. All I could do was frown, seeing all the flaws that he had yet to realize.

"And the school would call mom about our absences after the third day. We'd be busted and grounded until we're old enough to retire from any job we manage to get." I stated solemnly. Tony deflated at that with a loud groan before shooting me a strange look. I've never seen this look before so I'm not too sure if I should be fearful or ecstatic over it.

"You could cave and go out with him." Decided, I **don't** like that look one bit. It leads to bad ideas that involve me and misery. "Don't give me that look! Besides, what could one date hurt?"

"You if you keep up on this idea of yours." I scathingly replied. "I mean, you can't honestly think that one date can solve this problem of ours. One date will lead into another and another and before you know it, he'll think I actually like him. Not to mention, have you forgotten how he treated me when we first met him at the store? I think he would of struck me if you hadn't shown up, let alone mom calling out for us. He's a complete self-absorbed creeper with an ego the size of Canada! One measly little date won't change anything, if anything, it'll make everything worse."

He had the decency to flinch back from me as I ranted and that pleased me. He has seen the error of his way and shall no longer press that avenue anymore. For that, I am pleased and sated. I'll allow this to slide unless he ever brings it up again because then, he will pay. Big time.

"Sorry, Julie." Tony whispered out. "I shouldn't of even suggested that."

"You're forgiven. This time at least." I sighed deeply as I flop onto my back and stare up at his ceiling demurely in thought once again. "I guess...I don't know."

"It would be one thing if we were able to ignore it but..."

"But we could do what we did the last time we were getting bullied."

"That will not work Julie. If anything, that'll get us bullied even more." Tony whined.

"It will not. Trust me on this, Tony. If anything, it'll scare some of the others off from their bullying of us. It worked the last time, remember?"

"We were in the third grade. Third graders believe almost anything. I doubt our new classmates will buy into the whole witchcraft thing. I'm sure they're smart enough to realize that magic isn't real."

"Says the blond Harry Potter." I frowned.

"I'm not Harry Potter." Tony grumbled out. I grinned at that because he honestly didn't look like Harry Potter at all. Sure, he had generally messy hair and wore glasses but that was where any and all similarities ended. It was still something I liked to call him every now and then, just like how he refers to me as Aurora. You know, that Disney Princess chick with the golden hair? Yeah, her. "Go prick a finger _Aurora_."

"I'm not a princess." I grumbled as I crossed my arms over my stomach. "We'll do it **your** way for a bit and see where it gets us. If it gets worse, we're pulling out the witchcraft card. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Anthony! Juliette! We're leaving!" Dad's voice called out to us. I nearly forgot that they were going out. Guess the sitter's here and mom finally finished getting dressed. Yay for them. Hope they have a horrible time over at the McAshton manor, so much so that they pull us out of school and board us all on a plane back to San Francisco. I'm sure it's not too late for us to take our old house off the market, if not buy it back.

"Behave for the sitter! And you better be asleep by the time we get home!" Mom yelled up to us. At least she didn't order us down to meet the sitter. Hopefully, we'll not see said sitter at all and she...he...it. Yeah, I'll call the sitter an it. Hopefully it'll stay on the first floor for the entirety of the night, leaving Tony and I to wallow in self-pity, shame and video games.

"I'm going to my room. I've a princess to save and a world to restore order in." I announced after a few moments of silence, bouncing off of Tony's bed before he can shove me off. I shoot him a look over my shoulder as I stood in his doorway. "Use the passageway if you need me."

"I know." He replied as he returned to his desk and whatever it was he was doing there before my entrance. I couldn't help but smile at him before returning to the sanctum of my bedroom for some serious gaming time. I had a lot of stress to work out and a long night ahead of me. Good thing I've got stashes of candy and drinks in my room or else I'd get in trouble with the sitter and mom.

**Authoress' Notes: bluelover, you always ask the best questions. While I cannot explain it in full detail without giving something semi-important away I can tell you a little about the reasoning behind the title. It's going to become a recurring theme of the story once Rudolph and Juliette finally meet, paper flowers. **


	6. Chapter V

**Authoress' Notes: Once again, thank you to all who read, review, favorite and alert this story. It truly means the world to me considering how slow I've been with both writing and updating. Also, a fair warning. This is a short chapter. It was planned as being a short chapter and is to be taken as a filler for the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer is in the first chapter. Please enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter V: Candy and Games**

If there was one thing to be said about tonight it was the fact that I was grateful that my parents were out and that the sitter was minding it's own business and not checking on me. Otherwise, I'd be in big trouble. After all, I'm surrounded with several bags of candy and cans of soda pop with my wiimote strapped securely to my wrist playing _Twilight Princess_ on my flat screen tv in the dark. Twizzlers hanging from my mouth and hair in bunned pigtails at the back of my head dressed in my pajama pants and a pastel pink tank top. Life is good.

I should of probably put socks on before I started playing, my feet are getting kind of cold and my slippers are on the other side of my bed and pausing would just take too much time. I suppose I can suffer until I get this Zoran prince to Kakariko Village. I mean, I've only been doing this part of the game for the past three hours, surely I'll get past that stupid bridge sooner or later...right? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I will. It's only a matter of time.

Speaking of time, I wonder why Tony has yet to show up. It's not like him to pass up the opportunity to watch me play this game. He always does because he's too much of a wuss to play the game himself. The Twilight realm and shadow creatures scare him. My brother, he's so manly. Insert sarcastic snort here. At least I don't have to share my candy with him. Drats, I got jousted off the bridge again. This is going to be one long night and, since I've a momentary break, slippers here I come!

Dark purple and fuzzy, the most comfortable slippers in the entire world. And with my newly warmed feet, let's try this one more time! If I ever get past this part of the game, I'm hitting up that wolf spot close to the castle. I'll get that move sooner or later, hoping sooner because that is like the hardest move to learn compared to the first two. Dunno why and hey! Moblin creep! Stop shoving me off the bridge! I've a Prince to save so I can save a Princess and entire kingdom/world! You're not making my job any easier! Keep this streak of meanness up and I'm naming you Nigel..I've not completely lost my mind, I assure you. I'm just an avid female gamer who wants nothing more than to save the Princess and return to my life as a simple goat herder. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Honest.

Regardless if I'm believed or not I'm seriously at my wits end with this portion of the game. Why does this even have to be part of the game to begin with? Why can't it just be a little cut scene instead of a playable aspect that drives gamers insane enough to where they're threatening to throw their controllers through their tv screens? This is almost as frustrating as _Dark Cloud_ and it's prema-breaking weapons. Okay, I think I need a break from this before I start attempting to pull my hair out. I know it's not as hard as it seems to be, I'm just focusing on it too much.

I hate to admit it but I'm afraid to go to sleep. Afraid because I'm tired of having those horrid dreams that plague me every night, pulling me from what should be the comforts of slumber and into a panicked state of awareness. It's because of this that I decided to stay up as late as I can tonight and focus my attentions of various games. If I can avoid sleep then I can avoid having that dream. I'm putting it to the test tonight. A plus to all of this is the candy and drink stash I've had in my room which is slowly being depleted. I suppose that once I'm out of food I can explore the passageways more and see if any of them lead downstairs and into the kitchen. That way I can avoid in possible run-ins with the sitter or mom and dad when they get home, keeping myself out of trouble.

Hmm, I should probably clean up the empty wrappers and cans since I'm on break. That way when I start playing again, I won't accidentally grab anything empty and be disappointed which, in turn, will distract me and cause a game over. I hate getting game overs, it makes me feel so useless.

Now let's see. I'm out of twizzlers, butterscotch, candy canes, butterfingers, snickers, reeses cups, reeses pieces, gum drops, seven up, dr. pepper, sprite...man, I've had more than I originally thought. My stash is cut down to less than half. I didn't realize I was eating so much, I'll have to restock when I get the chance. Back to gaming I go but this time, I think I'll play Animal Crossing. At least with that game I don't have to pause so I can go grab something.

**Authoress' Notes: Like I said before, this was a planned short chapter. A filler that was never meant to be long. This leads into the next chapter perfectly and that is the chapter you all have been waiting for my dear readers. **

**Remember, positive criticism is welcomed. Flames will be deleted and ignored.**


	7. Chapter VI

**Authoress' Notes: I honestly have no real excuse as to why this chapter has come out so late. I had intended to post it the day after placing the filler up and I simply never got around to finish typing it. I'm genuinely sorry for taking so long to update. Without further ado, here's chapter six.**

**Disclaimer is in the first chapter. Please enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter VI: Flowered Dreams?**

It was late in the morning when I rose from the comforts of slumber for the second time. I had been up earlier before sunrise thanks to my candy and soda binge and it wasn't pretty. Mom's mother-senses must of went off for she came down to check on me which ended up with me being able to stay home for the day and recover. No, I didn't tell her what it was that made me sick in the first place, I let her come up with her own conclusions. She would of made me go to school if she knew I was sick because I ate too much candy while she was at a party with dad.

The house was rather quiet and while that did make me wonder where mom was I wasn't too concerned. After all, it wasn't often that I was able to be home alone. In fact, I've never been home alone, this was a treat. One that I knew wouldn't last for too long as there was no way mom would leave me alone for too long, asleep or not. Taking advantage of what little time I had alone, I proceeded to leave my bed, grab a clean set of pajamas and take a long relaxing bubble bath.

Forty-five minutes later found me donning my black pajamas – costume made thanks to iron-on images – and my hair in a sloppy bun with fuzzy purple slippers on my feet. I feel better, I honestly do, but now I've nothing to do and I don't do well when bored. So, when all else fails, I head to Tony's room. He has the best paper for origami and, not to mention, the PS2 is in his room.

Upon entering his room, I pulled the curtains to and flipped on his desk lamp. It was just a tad too bright outside for me to handle right now and the last thing that I wanted was to get a headache on top of having a sore esophagus and aching stomach. Grabbing a stack of colored paper from one of the desk drawers and now I'm set. I've never been good at making origami anything but that didn't mean that I didn't enjoy folding paper to create something new and different than normal.

Opposed to settling comfortably on Tony's bed, I sat cross-legged at his desk and got to work with folding the paper in an attempt to make a rose, which wasn't coming out well at all. I could look up directions but I knew that even that wouldn't help improve my skills at making paper flowers any. From my failed rose, I went to make a tulip and a daisy, softly humming one of the Zelda songs in the process.

While working on the both flowers simultaneously, I paused. You that feeling you get when you're being watched? Yeah, that creepy, spine-tingling feeling that gives you goosebumps? I've got that feeling, which is weird considering that the curtains are pulled too and I'm in the bare minimal of light and alone in a big house. Paranoia took over and I couldn't help but sweep my eyes across the room from over my shoulder and found absolutely nothing. Despite knowing that I was alone, the feeling was still there and it was creeping me out.

The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end and I couldn't help but be slightly nervous due to the feeling I was having. I hope its not a mouse, that would be very unsanitary to say the least. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I would scream and stand on Tony's desk til dad came home to save me from the plague-carrying menace. I may not be princess-y or girlie but I do not like mice. Period.

The sudden creaking behind me had me on edge and I could feel my heartbeat pick up as my imagination ran wild. How wild can an eleven year old's imagination be, you're wondering? Extremely wild in my case. I blame the video games. At the loud thud of something closing, I lost it.

"I'm not worth it! Honest!" I cried out, hands covering my head in a protective manner as I attempted to make myself look insignificant and rather small on the chair I was perched on. I dunno how successful I was as whoever is behind me chuckled. A cute chuckle that had my cheeks flushing red.

"I can assure you, I mean you no harm." Oh, what a cute young sounding voice. Now I feel really embarrassed. I mean, I'm in pajamas with damp hair, scrunched up as if trying to turn myself into a human bouncy ball or something equally small. I'm such a loser at times.

"O-okay." I managed to get out while slowly righting myself and trying my darnest to recover my dignity. Oh I was right, he is a cutey. Wild dark hair, pale skin, dark eyes and...dressed in Shakespearean styled clothing...something isn't quite right about that. Maybe I'm still asleep and this is nothing more than a dream. Would explain why I'm home alone after all. Now I don't feel so bad or scared. "Name's Julie. What's yours?"

"Rudolph." Of all the names for my subconsciousness to pick out, it picks the name of a reindeer. I must be sicker than I thought. Although, he does have a nice British accent. Where my mind cooked that up from, I have no idea but I'm not complaining. It's rather pleasant to hear.

"Nice name, that." I stated with a nod. Despite this being a fever-induced dream, it's pretty pleasant thus far. I wish my other dreams could be this pleasant then I wouldn't wake up at odd hours of the night in fright. An awkward silence settled between us making this the weirdest dream that I've ever had in the history of dreams. I turned back to my flowers and just stared at the papers on the desk with pursed lips before my mouth decided to develop a mind of its own.

"What are you doing, Miss Julie?" I could feel his cool breath on the back of my neck causing me to jerk forward a bit in surprise. He's a silent mover or he can teleport from one place to the next, not sure which since my back was turned to him but since this is a dream, it doesn't matter much. I gazed at him from the corner of my eyes.

"Making paper flowers though I'm not very good at it." I replied after taking a moment to calm down from the slight scare that I had just received. "And you don't have to call me miss, I'm a kid like you are." My focus once again turned back onto my previous incomplete attempt at making an origami rose.

"How can you make flowers out of paper?" Rudolph asked in such a cute inquisitive way. I think I've just met my dream guy, Get it, dream guy cause this **is ** a dream and all. Don't you people have a sense of humor here? Bah.

"Origami – the art of folding paper and turning it into a paper creation. Like I said, I'm not very good at it and all."

"Then why are you making these...paper flowers?"

"Because...I love paper flowers. Sure, real flowers are pretty and have a nice smell to them but they eventually wilt and die regardless of being in the ground or in a vase. A paper flower lasts forever as paper cannot wilt or die. Because they're made by hand they've a more personal feeling behind them that makes them special even if they don't have stems." I held up my now finished flower despite it not being perfect for him to see. "See? It's not perfect but that's what makes it special." He took the flower from my hands and looked it over in such an inquisitive way that I was beginning to become rather curious about him. I mean, hes in my dream and acting as if he's never seen a paper flower before. I would blame the fever for this but where's the fun in that?

"I could teach you how to make them if you want." I suggested as I looked at him from over my shoulder. To bad this is nothing more than a dream otherwise I'd completely be crushing on Rudolph. Curse my inventive fever-ridden mind for this nice dream.

"Alright. You shall teach me how then." He stated with a smile. I suppressed a giggle as I grabbed the stack of papers and rose from the desk chair and moved over to Tony's bed. It was roomier than a single desk chair that can't be shared. I motioned him over as I held a sheet of paper in my hands.

"As much as I wish this could be easily explained with words, it isn't. To make an origami flower, like you would do when making anything origami, you have to do some basic set-up folds of the paper. I dunno just what it does but I have tried making a flower without doing the prep folds and it didn't work." I started, showing him the basic folds that nearly all things origami had. "Just keep your eyes on my hands as I fold, it's the best way to really get the jest on how to make a flower outside of reading instructions which I don't have." It didn't take very long to finish my current rose and, keeping with my previous attempts, it's not perfect.

"Now you try." I handed him a sheet of paper after I set my third flower aside, taking one for myself. "How are you?"

"I am well. How fair you?" Old time talk. How...interesting.

"Pretty good for the most part." I answered as I moved onto making another flower. "Do you have any siblings?"

"An older brother and a younger sister, both of whom I am close to." Oh geez, he's a middle child, that must not be too fun.

"I've a twin brother who is, unfortunately, older than I. Outside of some minor teasing, Tony and I get along pretty great. Tony, that's my brother's name. It's short for Anthony, like Julie's short for Juliette. Julie's just my preferred name. Do you have a preferred name or do you just go by Rudolph?"

"Tony never mentioned having a sister." Wait, what? How can my dream guy harbor knowledge of my brother? Oh yeah, this is a dream conjured up by my own mind, of course he would know of Tony. Stupid me. I chanced a glance at him and he seemed a bit puzzled which made him look kinda...really cute. Too bad this is nothing more than a dream."I'm not sure I understand exactly what you mean but Rudolph is the only name I answer to. Why is it that you answer to a name that's not yours? Do you not like your own name?"

I set my current paper flower aside and turned to fully face Rudolph where he sat beside me, pulling my legs before me. "It's not that I don't like my name or anything, it's the jokes and teasing that go along with having a name from a well-known Shakespearean play that I don't like. Besides, most people these days go by nicknames of either their first or middle name. Julie just so happens to be my nickname, like Tony is for Anthony and Rudy is for Rudolph. It's like...a shortened version of one's own name that friend's and sometimes even family call each other by."

"I see." He still seems to be puzzled, almost as if the concept of nicknames is foreign to him. Instead of addressing that matter, I'll return to working on my flowers.

"I take it you know Tony, how'd you meet him?" I set my flower aside and assisted Rudolph in making the correct-ish folds for his flower. Thank goodness this is a dream, otherwise I would be concerned with how cold his skin feels.

"By chance last night. He saved my life and I, in turn, saved his. When I was to leave, he offered me a place to stay and to avoid further danger, I took up his offer."

"How did Tony save your life? I mean, no offense or anything but my brother can be a bit of a wimp at times."

"I needed blood and he took me to some." I blinked at that and stared right at his face in puzzlement.

"Blood...are you some kind of vampire or something?"

"Yes, I am." I can't help but stare into his eyes after such a statement and as I do, I can't help but recognize a few of the emotions being reflected within those dark red pools.

"You must be very lonely. Not having anyone to truly talk to or be around..."

"More than I care to acknowledge."

"I kinda know what that's like. Outside of Tony, I've no one I can really talk to that understands. No friends to speak of. It's horrible so I kind of know how you must feel."

"A girl should never have to feel that way." Wow, he's gentlemanly. That's such a rare trait nowadays. I should have fever-induced dreams more often. It's pleasant to be able to talk to someone, even if it is only in a dream.

"You shouldn't feel that way either." I find myself unable to pull my gaze away from his eyes. Not that I'm complaining or anything. He has gorgeous red eyes and it makes me curious to know just what color his eyes would be if he were human. Hazel green or maybe a honey brown? Shame I'll never know. The silence lasted for what seemed like a long time but I doubt that it was and it was strange. The entire time we gazed at one another, it was like we were communicating or something. Weird, huh?

"Do you need some more help with making that flower?" A sheepish grin answered my question, prompting me to move beside him and show him how to fold flowers again.

As I blink the sleep from my eyes I can't help but be disappointed to see that I am in my own room, that the events of this afternoon were nothing more than a dream brought on by a fever that I must have had. No Rudolph, no paper flowers...but the memory of the dream will always be there. A comforting thought to aid me when I'm sad. And it will be a thought, a memory, that I will always treasure.

**Authoress' Notes: And that concludes chapter six. It's not how I originally intended to write the chapter in the least but it's what came out as I sat down and typed. Yes, Julie thinks that the entire meeting with Rudolph in Tony's room was nothing more than a dream when, in fact, it truly isn't...or wasn't. For those of you who have/are sticking with me and my major slowness in updating, I thank you a thousand times over and would like to remind you that you can pester me to update if it's been over...two weeks without a new chapter being posted. I know I've said this before but I do get distracted easily and lately, my distraction has been compiling my other two _Little Vampire_ fanfics that have yet to be written. **

**Positive criticism is welcomed. Flames will be deleted. **


	8. Chapter VII

**Authoress' Notes: I am terribly sorry that it has taken me so long to get this chapter out. April was by far the worst month I have ever had. My grandfather passed away the first full week of April. I made the decision to take a small break from writing while I grieved which just consisted of me laying around eating chocolate and getting fat. Anyway, all sadness aside, I am doing much better now and am finally able to get back to writing. **

**Disclaimer is in the first chapter. Please enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter VII: Fighting Realizations**

I should of been aware that something had been different since I had been sick but I wasn't. Because of that, I wasn't able to stop what had occurred. It all happened no sooner than when Tony and I got to school today. Tony was acting different from how he normally does but I didn't pay that any mind, figuring that he was going through one of those phases that boys generally go through. If only I had known what was about to happen.

We had just left our lockers for the morning, like always and were heading to homeroom. A normal occurrence in our daily ritual of school. Safety in numbers since we had been targeted by the McAshton boys who had nearly the entire student body turned against us for no real reason at all. That was when things went from normal to hectic.

Flint and Nigel were standing at the doorway to the classroom, blocking us from entering, both sporting rather cocky grins on their faces and staring right at us. I paid them no mind and was about to pass between them with my head down until it happened. Tony walked right up to them, insulted them and tried, yes **tried** to walk past them to his seat. I'll be the first to admit that the looks on their faces at Tony's momentarily bravery streak was hilarious but it didn't take them no more than a second to come to their senses and they jumped him.

I stood frozen in shock, my bag falling to rest at my feet as I watched them gang up on my brother but after the first punch connected to Tony's cheek, I sprung into action. My intention at first was to get the nearest teacher and get the McAshton boys in trouble but somehow, I found myself in the midst of the fight, my fist connecting to Flint's nose, students surrounding the four of us chanting and calling out.

It didn't last no more than five minutes but it seemed longer than that before a few teachers pulled us apart. Tony and I were the only ones to get in trouble. Flint and Nigel were sent to see the nurse while Tony and I were taken to the Principal's office and we were in worse shape than the two bullies that started the whole mess. Tony had a bloodied nose and black eye while I had a busted, swollen lip and a cut above my eyebrow. The principal called our mom and she was not happy.

Currently, mom's in the office talking to the principal while Tony and I sit outside waiting. Despite this being our first offense, we might get suspended for a week. If we're lucky though, we may get off easy and just have to serve detention instead. It's a crying shame that we can't explain what has been going on since the first day of school, no one would believe us anyway. Everyone here thinks the McAshton boys are nice, polite boys.

"You okay Julie?" Tony asked in a hushed tone, catching my attention as I was dabbing my lip with a tissue. It hurt something awful.

"Yeah. You?" He simply nodded, eyes downcast. It's very obvious that he's blaming himself for what happened and he should. It was his fault but I can't blame him, hes my brother and as much a victim as I am. And it sure felt good to punch those obnoxious boys. Unfortunately, before I could say anything more to Tony, the principal's door opened and out stepped mom with a look of utter displeasure. We were in big trouble.

"Let's go you two." She sounded so angry at us. I get the feeling that our gaming systems are going to be confiscated and locked in a closet somewhere for a long time.

The entire car-ride home was dreadfully silent. Tony and I dared not to move, not to breath in fear of mom beginning her tirade earlier. Once getting home, however, it was another story. We didn't even get to make it inside and it was painfully obvious that she bought that the two boys were nice.

"Fighting with the McAshton boys, just what were you two thinking?" She began after slamming the car door shut. I flinched and took a step behind Tony. "What is wrong with you two? Don't you realize that you could have put your father's job here in jeopardy with your actions? Were you even thinking at all!"

No one was on our side and it hurt. Hurt more that our own mother turned her proverbial back to us and sided with the enemy or sorts. I couldn't stand it anymore and grabbed Tony's hand into mine, squeezing it tightly.

"You never listen to us to begin with so why should we tell you anything!" Tony shouted out, catching me by utter surprise. I hadn't expected him to lose his cool and especially at our mother of all people. It was shocking to say the least but I was grateful for his reaction regardless. Mom looked flabbergasted at first but, as I peered at her from under my lashes I could see her growing anger at the sudden bout of disrespect that had been shown to her.

I wasted no time in tugged Tony's hand and leading our quick retreat before she could say another word. He didn't protest as we quickly made our way inside and up to my room. I had already decided that for the time being we'd hide out within the passageways we had discovered and not show face until tomorrow if we could help it.

We were already in my room when I could just barely make out the sounds of mom coming up the stairs and I wasted no time in shoving Tony into my closet before pressing the little button that opened the hidden doorway and just as she reached my door, we were hidden away from sight and silent as can be, backs pressed against the stony interior and breaths held in anticipation.

"I could of sworn..." Mom's voice filtered to us before drifting away along with the sounds of her footfalls as she undoubtedly made her way to check Tony's room. We were in the clear.

"That was a close one." I whispered out. I shared a look with Tony before we slowly ventured further into the passageways and past the entrance to his room. We were going to go further in today while we hid from punishment. Today was going to be the first day that we traversed down the stone staircase. Hopefully it would lead to a secret interior room where we could talk to one another without risking being heard in the walls.

After reaching the bottom step I noticed that there were two paths to go, one straight ahead and the other to the right. Making the executive decision, I grabbed Tony's arm and stirred him to the right. There was just something about that hallway that compelled me to go that way. Almost as if something was calling me and I can't be sure but I think that Tony felt it too as he didn't protest going in that direction.

It wasn't long that we came upon a door and shared a look in realization. We were in the interior of the house, we could talk and not be heard by mom or anybody. Not to mention we now have our own little hideout to escape to whenever we wanted to. It was exciting to say the least. Tony pushed the door open and I couldn't shake the feeling that I've seen this room before as we entered.

It was rather dusty and there wasn't much in the room outside of a stone fireplace which is a little weird. I mean, why would there be a hidden room in a house that has a fireplace in it? We settled by the door on the floor and sat in silence for a few moments.

"I'm sorry you got involved Julie." Tony started. "I didn't want you to get into trouble or anything."

"It's okay. I don't mind. It was pretty cool to see someone stand up to those two though can you tell me why?" A wide grin spread across his face.

"I made a friend the other night. He's the coolest ever and guess what? He's a vampire!"

**Authoress' Notes: Sorry for the short chapter. I really am. I've shifted the idea for the next chapter as I couldn't really make the original idea work so the next chapter picks up right where this one leaves off. **

**In other news, I've began betaing for my dear friend and cousin, Adorable Phoenix. We're going to be co-authoring a few stories together once I finish _Paper Flowers_. **

**In response to whether or not Anna and Tony end up together. I've been considering that myself as I've been writing and I'm still unsure at this point if they will end up a couple or not. Despite all the planning I have done for this story the chapters just have a way of writing themselves out as I type. We'll just have to see how it develops once the two actually meet.**


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